The Estate Inventory

It's a bit morbid to put a value on someone's life, but it has to be done and the legal system does it every day. An individual's worth is judged on the loss of income to his or her dependents plus a certain amount for pain and suffering.

The helicopter company responsible for the crash on that fateful day finally settled with the Vaughan family in July 1994. The amount was undisclosed, but it was probably close to the $300,000 figure sought.

Since Stevie was unmarried at the time of his death and had no children, there was no one to receive what would have been the most valuable item from the lawsuit - the lost income from Stevie's concerts, music publishing, and record sales over the final quarter century of his life.

At the time of his death Stevie's estate was assessed to be just $672,057.56, an amount some would say was paltry compared with that which someone of his fame should have been worth.

In truth, the Stevie Ray Vaughan estate has probably generated more revenue from newly released music and video since his death, than what it was making during his lifetime.

This is what the estate was judged to be worth at the time of his death:

SRV Estate Inventory - NO. 90-3569-P2

ESTATE OF [[section]] IN THE PROBATE COURT

STEPHEN RAY VAUGHAN, [[section]]

DECEASED [[section]] NUMBER TWO

[[section]]

[[section]] DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS

[[section]]

INVENTORY, APPRAISEMENT & LIST OF CLAIMS

Date of Death: August 27, 1990

The following is a full, true and complete Inventory and Appraisement of all personal and real property situated in the State of Texas, together with a List of Claims due and owing to this estate as of the date of death, which have come into the possession or knowledge of the undersigned.

2. 132 video and audio recordings and miscellaneous film footage (accurate valuation of this property has not been made as value ranges from sentimental in nature to commercially viable; certain rights to the exploitation of the recordings are held by CBS records)